"I have always said what keeps me going is the fans," Pompeo wrote in an extended Twitter posting. "Knowing we move you and inspire you. There are so many people out there who have suffered tremendous loss and tragedy. Husbands and wives of soldiers, victims of senseless violence and parents who have lost children. People who get up each day and do what feels like is the impossible. So it is for these people and in the spirit of resilience I am honored and excited to tell the story of how Meredith goes on in the face of what feels like the impossible. I hope you will all join me on her journey."

While leads exiting their series are a routine part of television — Josh Charles was famously killed off on CBS' The Good Wife last season and the show's Archie Panjabi will depart this year — Derek's death was different, as Dempsey still had a year remaining on his contract that would have kept him in the Grey's fold through season 12. Here, Dempsey's Grey's Anatomy co-stars as well as cast members from Scandal and Murder pay their respects and mourn the loss of McDreamy.